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Saturday, April 21, 2012

San Antonio Spurs: The Three Biggest Questions Regarding Title Hopes Answered - Bleacher Report

When you think of the Spurs, you think of Tim Duncan.

And when people think of Duncan, you can't help but think of his age and how much he has left in the tank.

Quite frankly, Manu Ginobili is no rookie either.  

Tim and Manu, now at 35 and 34 years of age, respectively, are the two oldest players on the team, who happen to also be two of the best players on the Spurs.    

So I get why people consider the Spurs old.

However, let's clear things up.

First, let's not forget we are in a lockout season.  The last time the NBA was in a lockout season, the Spurs won their first championship.  Having fewer games helps the "older" Duncan and Ginobili.

To go along with fewer games, coach Gregg Popovich has carefully allocated his stars' playing time through the entire season.  

For example.  Of the 62 games played so far, Ginobili has only played in 36 (he was also hurt during a stretch of the season).  Out of those 36, he has only played more than 30 minutes in one game.  

The same goes for Duncan, who has sat out several games as well and has played fewer than 30 minutes in more than half the games this season.

Second, let's not forget about the third musketeer in the Spurs "Big Three."  That would be Tony Parker, who is only 29 and is in the prime of his career.  He is in the mix for NBA MVP this year and has been the player who has carried this team on his back the entire year.  

Third, the Spurs have plenty of young players to support the "Big Three," and their young bench is considered the deepest in the league.  Not only are they the deepest, but they are also the youngest.  DeJuan Blair, Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard are 22, 24, and 20, respectively.  

Last. Still think the Spurs are old? Here is a statistic to help convince you otherwise.

Of all the NBA teams, 12 teams had schedules that included two "back-to-back-to-back" stretches in the season.

Of those 12 teams, the Spurs are the only one to win all six of those games.

That's a good sign this "old'' team.

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